Tag Archives: archive

[ from: Archivist Round Table of Metropolitan New York/ Session 3 with OWS Archives] If archivism was indeed ever exclusively ideologically neutral in its approach to managing historical materials, many archivists have come to see said objectivity as illusory at best. Principal amongst the reasons for this shift in perspective within the archives community is a growing awareness that its custodianship of cultural materials can never be enacted in a manner wholly divorced from interpretation, advocacy, and the ever-present demands of the socially or economically powerful institutions that fund and administer archives.

Despite the extent to which this emergent awareness has affected how archivists approach their responsibilities, there remains a mistrust of the archival world by those most committed to the dismantling of hegemonic structures, particularly amongst activists, on the grounds that traditional institutional frameworks often fail to provide adequate transparency, accountability or sensitivity to the needs of marginalized individuals, communities, and movements.

How far can, and should, archivists go in responding to the concerns of the movements they are attempting to document? Should they be rethinking, even overhauling, traditional archival practice? This symposium addresses a range of issues attendant upon archives’ evolving relationships with activism and social justice. Among these concerns are: ownership, trust, and exclusion; self-documentation by activist communities and participatory archives; and collaborations between activists, archivists, and researchers using emerging technologies. Presenters representing a variety of institutions, initiatives, and activist communities will explore theoretical concerns as well as practice-based approaches to documenting social activism.

This symposium is dedicated to the memory of archivist and historian Michael Nash (1946-2012).

Session 3 with OWS Archives –> New Content, New Communities: Acquisition and Preservation in Nontraditional Archives (*Planning for the Short and Long Term Stewardship of Occupy Wall Street’s Digital Records Anna Perricci, OWS Archives Working Group ）

11:30am – 1:00pm: Session 3*. New Content, New Communities: Acquisition and
Preservation in Nontraditional Archives (*Planning for the Short and Long Term Stewardship of Occupy Wall Street’s Digital Records Anna Perricci, OWS Archives Working Group ）

Is there any relation to art and the archive? To museum and libraries? If you said yes or maybe to either one of these question, or if you are just curious about the science of libraries and archives then come tonight and take part in this import OWS forum:

OWS Archives Forum: What should an archive of Occupy Wall Street look like?

@ Judson Memorial Assembly Hall
Sunday Feb 5, 5-7pm

On its surface, it appears to be an impossible task: to document the activities of a major social movement as it is happening. And yet this has been the monumental task undertaken by the Occupy Wall Street Archives Working Group (OWS Archives WG), a collection of archivally-interested individuals who have established a sizeable collection of signs, flyers, interviews, oral histories, and artifacts ever since the infancy the occupation at Liberty Plaza (formerly known as Zuccotti Park). And, as you might expect, the OWS Archives working group have encountered this important question of the ultimate vision for an archive of Occupy Wall Street.

The OWS Archives Working Group is seeking input from people throughout the Occupy movement and the broader community of archivists & collectors on how to move forward with the management of the OWS Archives. In a public forum at Judson Memorial Assembly Hall , we intend to offer a presentation on the status of the Archives of Occupy Wall Street and host a discussion on visions for the future of the collection. We highly encourage anyone with an interest in archives and the developing history of the Occupy movement to attend for an exciting and urgent discussion.